Devices and methods of use on tables for infection control

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are devices and methods for providing a sanitary surface for objects on an over-bed table like that found in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc. The devices include a case in which a stack of sanitary mats is located. The case is configured to be mounted on the top of the table. The uppermost of the mats of the stack is exposed through an open top window of the case to serve as a sanitary surface upon which objects can be placed. That mat is configured to be removed from the case, e.g., either being peeled off of the stack through the open window, or slid out of the case through a slot, to thereby expose the upper surface of the underlying mat in the window.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This utility application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) ofProvisional Application Ser. No. 62/737,338 filed on Sep. 27, 2018entitled Devices and Methods of Use on Tables for Infection Control. Theentire disclosure of the provisional application is incorporated byreference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to infection control and moreparticularly to devices for mounting on a patient table in a hospital,nursing home, etc., to provide a stack of sanitary surfaces, which canbe sequentially exposed so that food, medicines, and other items can beplaced thereon and after such use the sanitary surface can removed toexpose another sanitary surface upon which food, medicines, and otheritems can be placed.

SPECIFICATION Background of the Invention

Infection control is an important issue in modern hospitals, nursinghomes, assisted living facilities, etc. With the increase in drugresistant bacteria, a greater emphasis is being placed on infectionprevention than ever before. As new sources of contamination areidentified, it has become apparent that typical over-bed tables found insuch hospital rooms, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc.,can serve as the source of such contamination. In this regard, when anurse or technician enters a patient's room in a hospital, nursing home,assisted living facility, etc., oftentimes there is not a clean surfaceto put down their supplies. These supplies include medications, needles,vials for blood draw, catheters, etc. Moreover, nurses and technicianstypically do not carry cleaning supplies with them, therefore they areforced to put their supplies and medications on the typical over-bedtable. Such tables often go uncleaned or are not cleaned fully.Moreover, since such tables are typically used for eating by thepatient, there is the danger that the patient can be exposed toClostridium Difficile (C. Diff), if any C. Diff spores are on the table.Therefore, providing a clean table for eating is imperative forinfection control.

Thus, a need exists for a device and method of use to render aconventional over-bed table, or some other table or countertop used by apatient in a hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, sanitary.

The subject invention addresses that need by providing a deviceincluding a stack of sanitary mats, which can be readily mounted on sucha table so that in preparation for meals, the hospital staff can simplypeel away the top layer of the mat prior to setting down the patient'sfood tray, providing a clean surface for the patient to eat on.Additionally, the patients themselves or visitors can remove and disposethe used mat to help clean their bedside space. Moreover, if the nurse,technician, etc., has to put his/her supplies on the over-bed table,he/she can merely remove and dispose the used sanitary mat, to expose afresh mat, whereupon the supplies can be put on the sanitary surface ofthe fresh mat.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of this invention is a device for mounting on the top of atable to provide a sanitary surface upon which objects can be placed.The device comprises a case, at least one attachment member and a stackof sanitary mats. The case has a top portion including an open windowand a hollow interior space in communication with the open window. Theat least one attachment member is configured for releasably mounting thecase upon the top of the table. The stack of sanitary mats is locatedwithin the interior space and comprising an uppermost sanitary mat, andat least one other sanitary mat disposed under the uppermost sanitarymat. The uppermost sanitary mat is exposed within the open window toprovide a sanitary surface upon which objects can be placed when thedevice is mounted on the top of the table. The uppermost sanitary mat isremovable from the stack to expose the at least one other sanitary matwithin the open window to provide another sanitary surface upon whichobjects can be placed when the device is mounted on the top of thetable.

In accordance with one preferred aspect of the device of this inventionthe case includes a side wall and a top wall, and wherein the openwindow is located in the top wall. The top wall has a very narrow lip,whereupon virtually the entire top portion of the case constitutes theopen window.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the device of thisinvention the at least one attachment member comprises a clip forreleasable securement to the top of the table.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the device of thisinvention the case and the clip form an integral unit.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the device of thisinvention each of the mats includes a sticky, yet releasably securable,undersurface.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the device of thisinvention the side wall includes a slot through which the uppermost ofthe mats can be slid from the stack of mats within the hollow interiorspace to expose the at least one other sanitary mat within the openwindow to provide another sanitary surface upon which objects can beplaced when the device is mounted on the top of the table.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the device of thisinvention each of the sanitary mats is approximately 30 inches by 15inches in size, suitable for use on a patient over-bed table.

Another aspect of this invention is a method for providing a sanitarysurface on the top of a table to enable objects to be placed on thesanitary surface. The method comprises providing a device comprising acase having an open window and a stack of sanitary mats located withinan interior of the case under the window, with the stack comprising anuppermost sanitary mat, and at least one other sanitary mat disposedunder the uppermost sanitary mat. The uppermost sanitary mat is throughthe open window. The case is mounted on the top of the table, whereuponthe exposed uppermost sanitary mat provides a sanitary surface uponwhich objects can be placed. The uppermost sanitary mat is removed fromthe stack, when desired, to expose the at least one other sanitary mat,whereupon the exposed at least one other sanitary mat provides anothersanitary surface upon which objects can be placed.

In accordance with one preferred aspect of the method of this inventionthe uppermost sanitary mat is removed from the stack through the window.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the method of thisinvention the case includes a side wall having a slot therein, andwherein the uppermost sanitary mat is removed from the stack by slidingthe uppermost sanitary mat through the slot.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the method of thisinvention the case is releasably mounted on the top of the table.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the method of thisinvention the case is releasably mounted on the top of the table by atleast one clip.

In accordance with another preferred aspect of the method of thisinvention each of the sanitary mats is approximately 30 inches by 15inches in size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of one exemplary embodiment of an attachmentdevice constructed in accordance with this invention shown mounted on aconventional patient table like that found in hospitals, nursing homes,etc., with the attachment device holding a stack of sanitary mats, eachof which can be sequentially exposed through an upper window of thedevice to provide a surface upon which food, medicines, nursingsupplies, etc. can be placed, with the uppermost mat being shown in theprocess of being removed through the window to expose an underlyingsanitary mat;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of another exemplary embodiment of anattachment device constructed in accordance with this invention andshown mounted on a conventional patient table, like that of FIG. 1, butonly with a portion of the table being shown;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the uppermostsanitary mat in the stack of mats in the process of being removed bysliding it through a slot in the device; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein likereference characters refer to like parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 anexemplary device 20 configured for mounting (e.g., releasably securablemounting) on an over-bed type table, e.g., table 10. The over-bed tablecan be of various constructions and basically comprises a frame 12having a base 12A, on which plural rollers or casters 14 are mounted.The frame includes an adjustable-height post 12B on which a table top 16is mounted. The table top 16 if typically of rectangular shape and is ofsufficient length to completely overlie the width of a bed upon which apatient will be located.

The device 20 basically comprises a housing or case 22 and a stack 24(FIG. 2) of plural sanitary mats or sheets. The case includes agenerally planar rectangular bottom wall 26, an upstanding side wall 28,plural clips 30, a top wall 32, an open window 34 in the top wall and ahollow interior or chamber 36 bounded by the walls of the housing andunderlying and in communication with the open window. The side wall ismade up of four linear sections, each of which extends along arespective side/end of the bottom wall and the top wall. The top wall 32is in the form of a very narrow lip 38, whereupon virtually the entiretop portion of the case 22 constitutes the open window 34. In accordancewith one preferred aspect of this invention the case is formed as anintegral unit, e.g., molded of a plastic material. However, that ismerely exemplary of various constructions for the case.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the stack 24 is made up of a plurality ofsanitary mats 24A. Each mat is a thin sheet of any suitable material,e.g., a non-porous plastic. Preferably the stack includes twenty tothirty mats or sheets, which are rectangular and of the same size andshape so that the stack 24 just fits within the hollow interior orchamber 36 of the case, with only minimal portion of the periphery ofthe stack underlying the narrow lip 38. The mats or sheets 24A of thestack preferably have a sticky or tacky coating or adhesive on theirundersurface so that they are releasably secured to each other, e.g.,the uppermost sheet or mat can be readily peeled off of the underlyingsheet or mat, and so forth and so on. Each of those sticky sheets ormats 24A can be of any suitable construction. Examples of suitablesheets or mats are the cleanroom sticky mats sold by Blue ThunderTechnologies (www.bluethundertechnologies.com) under the trademarkTHUNDER MATS, or the floor mats sold by Markel Industries(http://markelind.com/about/) under the trademark Trim Tack®. In eithercase the sheets or mats 24A that make up the stack 24 include the tackycoating or adhesive on their undersurface, not their top surface.

Each of the clips 30 is of identical construction and a respective oneof each of the clips 30 is mounted on a respective sidewall section andextends downward therefrom as best seen in FIG. 1. As best seen in FIG.2, each of the clips 30 is in the form of a downwardly projecting finger30A terminating in an inwardly directed free end flange 30B. Theeffective height of the clip, i.e., the distance between the bottom wall26 and the inner surface of the flange 30B is just slightly greater thanthe thickness of the table top 16. Each clip 30 is configured to beflexed outward to enable the inwardly directed flange to snap-fit underthe bottom surface of the table top 16 to releasably mount the device 20on the table top.

With the device 20 mounted on the table top, the uppermost mat 24A ofthe stack 24 will be exposed through the open window 34 to provide asanitary surface on which objects such as food, medications, suppliesand equipment can be placed. When it is desired to dispose of theuppermost mat 24A, e.g., it is soiled, it can be removed from the stack,by peeling it off of the underlying mat through the window like shown inFIG. 1, whereupon the removed mat can be discarded, thereby leaving thesanitary upper surface of the underlying mat exposed through the openwindow to serve as a fresh sanitary surface upon which objects can beplaced. The usage of the device 20 will be described in more detaillater.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 3-5, wherein another preferredembodiment 120 of the device of this invention is disclosed. The device120 is virtually identical to the device 20 except for the inclusion ofa slot in the housing or case (to be described shortly) and the use of astack of non-tacky mats or sheets (also to be described shortly) in lieuof the stack of tacky mats or sheets. In the interest of brevity thosecomponents of the device 120 which are identical in construction andoperation to the like components of the device 20 will be given the samereference numbers and their description and operation will not bereiterated.

Thus, as can be seen in FIG. 5, a stack 124 of non-tacky mats or sheets124A is located within the hollow interior chamber 36 of the housing orcase 122. The housing or case 122 includes an elongated slot 126 in theside wall section making up one of the end wall sections of the housingor case 122. The slot 126 is in communication with the hollow interiorchamber 36 and hence the stack 124 of non-tacky mats or sheets. The slot126 serves as the place from which the uppermost mat of the stack isremoved by a user when a new mat is to be used to form a sanitarysurface for objects. That action is accomplished by a user pressing downon the uppermost mat 124A through the open window 34, and sliding thatmat out through the slot 126, to expose the underlying mat in thewindow. In the interest of facilitating the removal of any mat from thestack 124 the upper surface of each of the mats 124A of the stack mayinclude indicia thereon indicating that the sheet is to be presseddownward through the window and out through the slot. To that end, suchindicia may be like the icon of a hand with an arrow pointing in thedirection that the mat is to be slid, like shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Since the mats or sheets of the stack 124 is to be slid out of the slot126, and not peeled off the stack and removed through the open window34, the stack 124A of mats is like the stack 24, but each sheet or mat124A does not include any tacky coating or adhesive on its undersurface(or its upper surface for that matter). This construction enables theuppermost sheet or mat of the stack to be readily slid off theunderlying sheet or mat, without interference of a tacky coating oradhesive.

The devices 20 and 120 or any other devices constructed in accordancewith the subject invention can be used in various ways. For example,they can be used by nurses or technicians to prepare a preparationsurface for their supplies. In particular, with a device 20 constructedlike that of FIGS. 1 and 2 (or a variant thereof) mounted on theover-bed table in a patient's room, the nurse or technician can simplypeel off and discard the top mat 24A of the device, leaving a cleanunderlying mat exposed through the device's window to serve as a freshsanitary surface on which they can place their supplies and patientmedications. This action when accomplished will create an instantlyclean surface for such objects without necessitating the use of chemicalsolutions or wipes. The user simply peels away the top (uppermost)soiled mat of the device, leaving behind a clean surface on theunderlying mat.

Similarly, with a device 120 constructed like that of FIGS. 3-5 (or avariant thereof) mounted on the over-bed table 10 in a patient's room,the nurse or technician can simply press down on the uppermost mat thatis exposed in the open window 34 and slide that mat in the direction ofthe arrow shown in FIGS. 3-4 so that the mat is ejected out the slot126, thereby leaving a clean underlying mat exposed through the device'sopen window to serve as a sanitary surface on which they can place theirsupplies, patient medications, etc.

The devices of this invention can also be used for meal preparation. Insuch use, the device is mounted on the over-bed table with its uppermostmat serving as the surface on which the patient's food is placed. Whenthat mat becomes dirty, the nurse, staff member, or even the patient canpeel away the top mat (if using the embodiment 20 of FIGS. 1 and 2) orslide away the top mat (if using the embodiment 120 of FIGS. 3-5),thereby leaving a clean underlying mat exposed to serve as the surfaceto eat on or place objects on.

It should be pointed out at this juncture that the exemplary embodimentsshown and described heretofore are merely examples of many devices thatcan be constructed in accordance with this invention for holding a stackof sanitary mats on an over-bed table. For such uses the mats may be of30 inch by 15 inch size to fit the most common size of patient over-bedtables. It should also be noted that the devices of this invention arenot limited to use solely on over-bed tables. Thus, they can be used onany table or surface for which a clean sanitary surface is desired. Forexample, the mat can be placed on the work counter for human milk andformula preparation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).Moreover, it is contemplated that the subject invention may merely makeuse of a stack of sanitary mats, without any case or housing for thestack. In such use the stack of mats would be directly releasablymounted on the top surface of a table or counter. In such a case theundersurface of at least the lowermost of the mats or sheets of thestack should be of a higher grade adhesive than the adhesive between themats/sheets so that the stack effectively sticks to the table. Moreover,it is contemplated that for an embodiment of the invention making use oftacky mats/sheets to expedite removal of the uppermost mat/sheet, acorner of the that mat/sheet (approximately 1 inch×1 inch) would not nothave releasable adhesive on it. Therefore the user can use this corneras a pull tab to lift and peel that mat/sheet off of the stack. Thatcorner could include indicia indicating the existence of the pull tab.Examples of such indicia may be the words “PULL HERE” or the cornercould be a different color. It is also contemplated that the mat/sheetsbe treated with a indicating agent which would change color afterexposure for a certain period of time to indicate that it is time forthe exposed mat/sheet to be changed.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully illustrate myinvention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge,adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.

I claim:
 1. A device for mounting on the top of a table to provide asanitary surface upon which objects can be placed, said devicecomprising: a case having a top portion including an open window and ahollow interior chamber in communication with said open window; at leastone attachment member for releasably mounting said case upon the top ofthe table; a stack of sanitary mats located within said interiorchamber, said stack comprising an uppermost sanitary mat, and at leastone other sanitary mat disposed under said uppermost sanitary mat, saiduppermost sanitary mat being exposed within said open window to providea sanitary surface upon which objects can be placed when said device ismounted on the top of the table, said uppermost sanitary mat beingremovable from said stack to expose said at least one other sanitary matwithin said open window to provide another sanitary surface upon whichobjects can be placed when said device is mounted on the top of thetable.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein said case includes a side walland a top wall, and wherein said open window is located in said topwall, said top wall having a very narrow lip, whereupon virtually theentire top portion of said case constitutes said open window.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein said at least one attachment member comprisesa clip for releasable securement to the top of the table.
 4. The deviceof claim 2, wherein said at least one attachment member comprises a clipfor releasable securement to the top of the table.
 5. The device ofclaim 3, wherein said case and said clip form an integral unit.
 6. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein said case and said clip form an integralunit.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein each of said mats includes asticky, yet releasably securable, undersurface.
 8. The device of claim2, wherein said side wall includes a slot through which said uppermostof said mats can be slid from said stack of mats within said hollowinterior chamber to expose said at least one other sanitary mat withinsaid open window to provide another sanitary surface upon which objectscan be placed when said device is mounted on the top of the table. 9.The device of claim 8, wherein said at least one attachment membercomprises a clip for releasable securement to the top of the table. 10.The device of claim 9, wherein said case and said clip form an integralunit.
 11. The device of claim 1, wherein each of said sanitary mats isapproximately 30 inches by 15 inches in size, suitable for use on apatient over-bed table.
 12. A method for providing a sanitary surface onthe top of a table to enable objects to be placed on said sanitarysurface, said method comprising: providing a device comprising a casehaving an open window and a stack of sanitary mats located within aninterior of said case under said window, said stack comprising anuppermost sanitary mat, and at least one other sanitary mat disposedunder said uppermost sanitary mat; exposing said uppermost sanitary matthrough said open window; mounting said case on the top of the table,whereupon said exposed uppermost sanitary mat provides a sanitarysurface upon which items can be placed; removing said uppermost sanitarymat from said stack, when desired, to expose said at least one othersanitary mat, whereupon said exposed at least one other sanitary matprovides another sanitary surface upon which objects can be placed. 13.The method of claim 12, wherein said uppermost sanitary mat is removedfrom said stack through said window.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereineach of said mats includes a sticky, yet releasably securable,undersurface.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein case includes a sidewall having a slot therein, and wherein said uppermost sanitary mat isremoved from said stack by sliding said uppermost sanitary mat throughsaid slot.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein said method comprisesreleasably mounting said case on the top of the table.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein said case includes at least one clip for releasablymounting said case on the top of the table.
 18. The method of claim 12,wherein each of said sanitary mats is approximately 30 inches by 15inches in size.